Fremont, CA, January 27, 2000 - Asyst Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq NM: ASYT), the leading provider of Standard Mechanical Interface-based manufacturing automation systems, today announced that it has received a multimillion dollar order from Chartered Silicon Partners (CSP) — a joint venture between Hewlett-Packard and Chartered Semiconductor — for a complete Standard Mechanical InterFace (SMIF) system solution. The equipment will be used in the phase one ramp up of CSP's new fab in Singapore — a 200 mm facility for production of advanced devices. Shipments to the 80,000-square-foot fab are scheduled to begin in October this year.

Asyst Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mihir Parikh said, "We are very pleased that Chartered has once again selected Asyst's products to protect the integrity of their wafers throughout the manufacturing cycle. This order is indicative of our strong booking momentum in this fiscal fourth quarter."

"We designed Asyst equipment into this fab from the outset," said John Docherty, senior vice president of operations for Chartered. "We have seen first hand the benefits Asyst products deliver in terms of productivity and other critical factors. Additionally, Asyst provides strong locally-based service and support, which is also critical to our success."

The Chartered fab order consists of the full range of Asyst-SMIF products, including: Asyst SMIF-LPTs™ and Indexers™ for transferring cassettes into and out of process equipment, SMIF-Enclosures™ (or minienvironments) for isolating process equipment, SMART-Tags™ for wafer lot tracking, Asyst SMIF-Pods for encapsulating wafer cassettes and single-reticle pods.

Asyst Vice President of Asia Pacific Operations Ken Leung noted that this order marks the continuation of a long working relationship between Asyst and Chartered. "Chartered has successfully used Asyst products since they built their first 8-inch fab in 1993," Leung said. "Our work with Chartered on a variety of projects over the past seven years has strengthened Asyst's ability to understand and anticipate the needs and challenges of their fabs. One key ingredient in solidifying this relationship has been the strong local technical service and support provided through Asyst's Singapore office over this time frame."

Asyst's SMIF-LPT systems are fully automated robotic transfer systems designed to remove wafer cassettes from a pod or wafer carrier and subsequently load them into the semiconductor process equipment-all the while isolating the wafer lots from potentially harmful and yield-limiting contaminants. Asyst's minienvironments surround the process equipment and provide a better-than-Class 1 level of cleanliness while separating the equipment from the ambient environment of the manufacturing facility. When used in combination, these SMIF systems enable IC manufacturers to benefit from optimized processing integrity and less costly Class 10 to 1000 cleanrooms.

Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, semiconductor industry cycles, risks associated with the acceptance of new products and product capabilities and other factors more fully detailed in the Company's most recent Forms 10-K and 10-Q and annual report to shareholders.

About Chartered
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing (Nasdaq: CHRT and SES: CHART) is one of the world's leading independent foundries providing wafer fabrication services. Guided by the tenents of trust, service, partnership, advanced technology and stability, the Company aims to provide world-class semiconductor foundry services that enable customers to create and deliver market-leading system-level solutions. Chartered operates five fabrication facilities that serve high-growth, technologically advanced applications such as communications and networking. Headquartered in Singapore, Chartered employs approximately 3800 people at its 12 locations in North America, Asia and Europe. Chartered completed its global initial public offering in October 1999 and is traded in the United States on Nasdaq and in Singapore on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The Company reported 1999 revenues of US $694.3 million.

About Asyst
Asyst Technologies, Inc. is the leading provider of Standard Mechanical Interface-based minienvironment and manufacturing automation systems that enable semiconductor manufacturers to protect customers' valued assets throughout the manufacturing process while increasing manufacturing productivity. Asyst offers a broad range of 200 mm and 300 mm products that enable the Company to provide semiconductor manufacturers and Original Equipment Manufacturers automated manufacturing solutions for the transfer of wafers and information between the process equipment and the fab line.

SMIF-LPT, SMIF-Indexer, SMIF-Enclosure and SMART-Tag are trademarks of Asyst Technologies.